Topeka Polka

Advanced Tune Tuesday - Topeka Polka
Hi friends! Today’s #2022advancedplayerschallenge tune is Topeka Polka and you better believe I was excited to find that out. I’ve been playing this one for years, although I did have to brush up. Turns out this is a Spade Cooley tune (thanks to my pal Joey McKenzie for sending me his version, which I’d never heard) although I learned it from Tim Hodgson by way of Howdy Forrester. I never spent any time trying to improvise on this one back in the day, because you know, fiddle contests, but I gave it a little go here the second time through, to mixed results. I like this chapter of my life, where I’m not restrained by the pressure of playing things perfectly every time. It results in a much lower blood pressure.
Also, this one goes out to Anne Huber, may she Rest In Peace. She was a great lover of fiddling generally and polkas specifically. Her loss will be felt by the west coast fiddle community.
#fiddle #fiddlestar #polka #topekapolka #spadecooleyisnotarolemodel